1 Corinthians 15:12-19 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Without the supernatural reality of Jesus being raised from the dead, we who believe in Jesus and his teachings, we who follow him, who worship him, are to be pitied. The King James version of the Bible ends today's passage with: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. As Paul concludes, And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. We are more to be pitied than any other people who inhabit this world because our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection of Christ, Christians are believing in something no more special or worthy than the most absurd philosophy or ideology that man can construct. If Jesus Christ had not performed all the miracles written in scripture, if He had not accomplished more in human form than any other person that has ever existed; by now, He would have blended nondescriptly into the historical account of human existence. But Jesus did perform one miracle after another; He did control nature. Through his walk and teaching, He revealed himself as far superior than just an ordinary man. When John attests to the authority of his account of the gospel, he says, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25) Without a doubt, Jesus' supernatural acts impressed men, caused many to follow him and some to take up the cross and become his disciples. But the culmination of his life as more than just a man came at the resurrection. After his resurrection, people knew that God came down in human form to visit this earth. He placed his plan of redemption on the table for all to partake. Jesus performed wonderful acts in his life: performed marvelous miracles, taught many people. But the resurrection truly separates him from all men who have ever lived. He is the first to be resurrected from the grave, allowing many to follow after him because He won the victory over death and the grave. When Paul says we are to be pitied if there is no resurrection, He implies that Christ's resurrection is the blessed hope of every believer.
Jesus became the first born from death to life when resurrected from the grave. He first passed through the veil of tears into eternal life with God. Yes, Jesus was God, but he paid the price of death for the sins of the world. He was hidden in the grave away from the intimate presence of God. He cried out to his Father on the cross. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46) Crucifixion day was dark, for God had turned away from the curse on the cross: Christ his Son bearing the sin of mankind. God abhors sin; He will not look upon it with favor; He will always judge it with death. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:13-14) Jesus went to the grave totally dependent upon the grace of his Father to send the Spirit to lift him up again. The Spirit raised him after three days in the belly of whale, the only sign given to man that He is truly God. He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:39-40) This sign of being in the grave three days was the ultimate signature of Jesus being God and his plan for redemption of all people who would call upon his name. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11) Our hope in this life is to be raised into eternal life with God after our physical demise. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too will someday be raised from our sleep to eternal life. We will no longer be away from God on this island we call Earth, we will be with him. What a glorious hope!
Since our hope is in the resurrection, we should live as those who are experiencing eternal life. Our eyes should not be fixed on these earthly matters to the point the we lose this hope. Our hope will soon fade if we count the things of this world to be too important: our eating, drinking, and merry-making activities. If the resurrection is not in our eyes, we are as Paul said, to be pitied, for we are living a lie, and we are miserable, for we have lost our way. On one hand, we tell the world that Christ lives; on the other hand, we live as if Christ is dead. If our main interests are embedded in this world, the people we come into contact with will know what we think is important. For we identify the important elements of our lives by the way we spend our time and our resources. When Jesus tells his disciples to take no thought for tomorrow about what they will wear or what they will eat and to seek the kingdom of God, He also says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34) Our hearts will betray us, for we cannot hide our motives and intentions for long. It is not our words that define us but our actions. We can say, "I love you!" to a family member or a friend, but if our actions do not bear out our words, then we are as a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1) If we stopped to think, could each of us recall loved ones we have neglected, good friends we have let fall by the wayside, hurting people we have ignored? We know that we have a glorious hope in our precious Lord and Savior who paved the way for us by giving everything that we might live eternally. When Paul closed his letter to Titus, he reminded him of how he should live. Given our hope of resurrection in Christ, we do well to remember this admonition: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14)
No comments:
Post a Comment